Civilians die trying to flee Iraq's besieged Fallujah

Amriyat al-Fallujah (Iraq) (AFP) – Civilians desperate to flee Fallujah were having to dodge sniper fire from the Islamic State group, which was keen to keep its “human shields” inside the city as Iraqi forces closed in Monday. “We know from witness testimonies that civilians… are being forced to stay and are being threatened,” Nasr Muflahi, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Iraq director, told AFP. Footage carried by Iraqi channels showed civilians paddling for their lives on the river, others drifting in inflated wheel chambers.